Baldwin’s words always hit me to my core. I read this in tandem with watching the documentary and I’m so glad I did. I don’t think I would have caught as much as I did if I had just watched the movie and I don’t think I would have been as moved as I was if there was no music, less photos, and no videos of the protests and the assassinated.

“I say violence is necessary, violence is a part of American culture. It is as American as cherry pie.”

This was such a raw, frank, powerful read that will undoubtedly stay with me. For such a short book, I learnt so much, though I definitely need to watch the film to kind of consolidate things, as some parts did go over my head a little. I think though that that was more down to my ignorance and knowledge gaps rather than any fault of the book. 

The intentionally disjointed style, with the narrative often moving abruptly between different styles, speakers, and topics fairly quickly also made me eager to learn more. It was ultimately a thoroughly upsetting read, which rightfully made me uncomfortable, but an incredibly important one, and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend.